Process of obtaining cellulose from vegetable substances.



STATES 'rE nron,

JOHN H. EAIE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR or Two-ram s T0 HERMAN G. GREEN A m ALBERT I-I. HANCOX, OF CHICAGO, ILL NOIS.

PROCESS OF OBTAINING GELLULOSE FROM VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES.

No Drawing.

provement in Processes of Obtaining Cellu-' lose from Vegetable Substances, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description.

My invention, broadly speaking, is a process for reducing vegetable substances for the purpdse of extracting therefrom the cellulose in order that the resulting product may be utilized for making paper or for use as a fiber to be spun into yarn or used otherwise in the paper and textile arts.

In the artof manufacturing paper pulp,

there are two processes that are well known;

one which is the more common being known as the sulfite process and the other being known as the soda process.

My invention'contemplates the reduction of a much greatervariety of woods, weeds,

grasses and. other fibrous products than it has been possible to utilize either in the soda or the sulfite process of making paper pulp.

I have applied my invention to the reduc-' tion of not only hemlock, spruce, bass-wood and poplar, considered especially suitable, but also to lignum vitae, oak, southern pine,

hickory and other woods with success. I

mention .inthis connection that Ichave made use of small chips produced at the mill and known as hog refuse and sulfite tailings from the screen pulp, and undigested knots. The inner bark known as woodroom refuse I have reduced successfully; also cane, bamboo, Johnson grass, palmetto and okra stalks,

also corn, sunflower and flax stalks and straw. 1 I

I have worked out my invention to produce the above results in various ways, as required by varying conditions. For a concrete instance I will first describe my process as applied to hemlock.

My process may be said to consist of two principal parts or steps; the first I designate as the pickling process; the second I designate as the rendering or cooking process. The hemlock chips are placed in a receptacle to be immersed in asolution of hydro-chloric acid and potassium chlorate. To a gallon of the hydro-chloric acid I add about two teaspoons full of potassium chlorate. The

chips being immersed in this solution will.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 11,1913.

Application filed 119.711, 1912. Serial No. 696,715.

become thoroughly saturated and the fiber y will be loosened up. The wood, however, remains firm after this pickling process is completed, which may take say twenty-four hours more or less, according to the size and nature of the chips. The chips are then removed from the solution and are in condition for the second step'of the process, that is the rendering operation. V

The rendering operation consists in placing the chips in a kettle of water which is brought to the boiling point. When the water comes to a boil I adda small amount of caustic potash or lye and thereupon the charge-will be almost at once reduced to a fibrous condition. ,To five gallons of water I would add say a tablespoon full of caustic soda, or, the equivalent of lye. The solution remaining of the pickling bath and also the solution remaining of the rendering bath will be utilized for a second batch. In other words the pickling solution once formed. may be used over and over again and the same may be said of the rendering solution. When a second batch or charge isplaced in the pickling tank, enough hydro-chloric acid with potassium chlorate will be added to make up for what has been taken up in quantity and strength by the previous charge, and the same rule will apply to the rendering solution, that is enough water and caustic soda or lye will be added so that the solution will be suflicient in volume and of the proper strength to do the work required. In case the pickle solution is found of insufiicient strength as, for example, when the charge consists of southern pine, I add to it preferably from half an ounce to one ounce of commercial nitric acid for each gallon of solution.

By my process I have found that the fiber or cellulose product from the standard woods is improved over and above the product obtained by a known commercial processes.

I claim r 1. The process of extracting the cellulose or pure fiber from vegetable substances, which consists in placing the charge in a receptacle containinga solution of hydrochloric acid and potassium chlorate,.allowing thecharge to remaintherein until satuhe older and wellconsists in placing the charge in a cauldron of virater, bringing the same to! the boiling point, caustic potash or lye being added to' the Water;-substantia11y as described.

2. The process of reducing vegetable substances Which consists in placing the charge in a pickling bath consisting of hydrochloric acid, potassium chlorate and nitric acid, removi g the same from the pickling bath and sub ecting the charge to the action loofwater containing caustic soda raised to p the boilingpoint; as and for the purpose specified.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe of-May, A. D.,

my name this eighth day 1912. 4

JOHN FAIR.

Witnesses:

ALFRED H. Moons MOGLELLAND YOUNG. 

